In 2011, the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) commissioned the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI) to conduct research into the tourism, travel, and hospitality experiences and needs of people with hearing impairments.   Hearing impairment ranges from slight hearing loss to total loss. The research was led by Dr. Sandra Rhodda, Research Programme Leader in Access Tourism. The research included two surveys, one for residents of New Zealand (“NZ”) and one for residents of countries other than NZ (called Internationals, or “Int”) who are deaf or have hearing loss.   The aim of the research was to find out what it is like to travel with hearing loss, how the travel experiences of hearing impaired people can be improved, to establish what people with hearing loss want in terms of tourism products and services, and to offer a better understanding of Access Tourism as a legitimate tourism market.  It also evaluated the case for the development of a ‘Hearing Tick’ for tourism businesses that cater for people with hearing loss.

In summary, the survey found that

• The top four reasons why NZ and Int respondents travel in general are: for enjoyment (84%/91%), to connect with friends, family or partner (84%/59%), to have new experiences (65%/72%), and for relaxation (53%/57%).  In other words, for the same reasons as people without hearing loss travel.
• NZ respondents on average took 7.18 overnight domestic trips during 2010; this is more than the number of domestic overnight trips (4.2) taken by NZers in general. NZ respondents took either one (30%), two (11%), or three or more (10%) international trips during 2010. Forty-nine percent did not travel internationally.
• The primary reasons NZ respondents took their most recent domestic trip were to be with friends and family (31%), to holiday (25%), for business (11%), or to attend conferences (10%).
• The majority (82%) of NZ respondents travelled with at least one other person on their most recent domestic trip – mainly a spouse or partner (73%). Eighteen percent travelled alone.
• On their most recent domestic trip, NZ respondents stayed an average of 4.6 nights away from home, and spent on average $107 per person per day on transport, accommodation, activities and attractions, and food and beverage.
• Thirty-three percent of Int respondents took between three and five domestic overnight trips in their own country. The mean number of domestic overnight trips taken by Int respondents was 6.8.
• Forty percent of Int respondents did not take any international trips during 2010. Of those who did travel internationally, the majority (83%) took between one and three trips.
• Forty-three percent of Int respondents have previously visited NZ, 47% have never visited NZ but plan to do so one day; 10% have never visited and have no plans to do so.
• For those Int respondents who have been to NZ, the main reasons for their last visit were ‘holiday’ (42%), to be with friends and/or family (15%), and to attend a conference or similar event (13%).   The majority (83%) of Int respondents who visited NZ travelled with at least one other person on their  last visit – mainly their spouse or partner. Seventeen percent of Int respondents travelled by themselves to NZ.  On their last visit to NZ, Int respondents stayed an average of 13.2 days.
• Just under half (46%) of NZ respondents are somewhat dissatisfied with the number of domestic overnight trips they currently take. Factors that prevent these respondents from travelling more domestically are cost (74%), a concern that their hearing needs will not be met (37%), and difficulty finding information about access for visitors with hearing loss (24%).  Fifty-nine percent of NZ respondents ‘agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’ that they would take more domestic overnight trips if the level of service for people with hearing loss across the tourism industry in NZ was improved.
• Just under half (43%) of Int respondents are somewhat dissatisfied with the number of international trips they currently take. Factors preventing Int visitors from taking more international trips are cost (73%), time constraints (54%), concerns that their hearing needs will not be met (33%), and difficulty finding information about access for visitors with hearing loss (25%).
• Both NZ and Int respondents agree (mean 4.4-4.6 out of 5) that the most important access needs when travelling away from home include customer service staff who have a ‘can-do’ attitude and the provision of reliable information. This includes information about safety in clear print, emergency alarms in public areas that are visual as well as audible, public audio announcements also provided in text on TV screens, and customer service staff who are knowledgeable about serving guests with hearing loss.
• When asked what other things would make their travel more enjoyable and accessible, both NZ and Int respondents highlighted the importance of understanding, patient staff trained to know how to accommodate people with hearing loss, how to meet their needs, and what to do in an emergency.
• Over two-thirds (70%) of NZ and half (52%) of Int respondents indicated that it is difficult to find information about NZ tourism products that are accessible to people with hearing loss.
• Forty-two percent of NZ and 29% of Int respondents agreed with the statement that ‘information about services for the hearing impaired is often wrong or misleading’.
• The reasons most often stated by both NZ and Int respondents for not seeking information about NZ tourism products were: a lack of knowledge on how to seek information and a perception that it is too hard to find. Some also think the information does not exist, and that businesses do not cater for people with hearing loss.
• The majority of NZ (90%) and over half (55%) of Int respondents feel that the level of service in the NZ tourism industry for people with hearing loss needs to be improved.
• Nearly two thirds (60%) of NZ and three quarters of Int respondents indicate they would ‘often’ return to a tourism business that has good services for people with hearing loss; 64% and 76% would tell friends and family about such a business.
• The majority of both NZ (88%) and Int (89%) respondents think it is a good idea to have a hearing-rating symbol that NZ businesses could use to show they are accessible to people with hearing loss.
• The main reasons given by both domestic and Int respondents for saying the use of a ‘hearing tick’ is a good idea are: to show that people with hearing loss are accepted and provided for, to reduce anxiety and frustration, to make the business easily recognisable, to promote awareness by businesses of people with hearing loss, and to improve first time and repeat patronage by people with hearing loss.
• The majority of NZ (83%) and Int (91%) respondents indicate that they would visit a website that had reliable information on tourism businesses in NZ that cater for people with hearing loss.

The full report can be found on the NZTRI site and on the NFD site.

Two new text books on accessible tourism are available through the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) from Channel View Publications. The first is “Concepts and Issues” (eds: Dimitrios Buhalis and Simon Darcy), which sets out to  explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues  in the study of accessible tourism.  Professor Nigel Morgan, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research states that this volume harnesses “the best conceptual  developments on the topic” and that it will “take accessible tourism and universal design debates into the mainstream of academic enquiryand industry practice“

The second volume is “Best Practice in Accessible Tourism” (eds: Buhalis, Darcy, and Ivor Ambrose).  It focuses on policy and best practice in accessible tourism, reflecting the ”state-of -the-art” as expressed in a selection of international chapters. It brings together global expertise in planning, design and management to inform and stimulate providers of travel, transport, accommodation, leisure and tourism services to serve guests with disabilities, seniors and the wider markets that require good accessibility. Chapter 8, written by Sandra Rhodda of Access Tourism New Zealand, describes the state of accessible tourism in this country.  Overall, the book gives ample evidence that accessible tourism organisations and destinations can expand their target markets as well as improve the quality of their service offering, leading to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty and expansion of business.  Accessible tourism is not only about providing access to people with disabilities but also it addresses the creation of universally designed environments that can support people that may have temporary disabilities, families with young children, the ever increasing ageing population as well as creating a safer environment for employees to work. Noel Scott, of the University of Queensland, Australia says that the volume “provides a ‘state-of-the-art” assessment of both theory and practice. This book establishes a new field of study and provides the benchmark against which other contributions will be judged. It integrates the work of all the key players and should be read by academics, managers and government policy makers.”

The newly released New Zealand Regional Visitor Monitor (NZRVM) shows that the percentage of  domestic visitors who are 45 years of age or older visiting regions in New Zealand has increased over the last several years.  To the year ended March 2011, that percentage was 44%.  The percentage of international visitors 45 or older has remained fairly stable at around 29-32%.  But this percentage is bound to increase as Baby Boomers retire and begin to travel more.  The NZRVM also shows that for both domestic and international visitors, to “Challenge and Test Myself” is not a high motivator to visit, but New Zealand still promotes itself as an adrenalin destination.  Nothing wrong with that, but we should balance that out by looking at who our visitors  actually are and who they will be in the future.  There are very few grey hairs in New Zealand tourism advertising.   Hopefully the New Zealand tourism sector will take note of actual trends and begin to include older people in planning and advertising, as advocated by Access Tourism New Zealand many times before (most recently, here).

Meanwhile, in the USA, mainstream USA marketers are  working to target people over 45 – territory they previously left untended.  Why? There are more Americans aged 51 today than any other age, the average Baby Boomer is now 54, and the largest group of Boomers is aged 50-55.

Dear Karen,

It would be so great to see you and your husband (who is willing to wheel you anywhere accessible) in New Zealand, and I really wish I could offer you advice about where to get information about accessible places that you could visit or stay at, but that information is essentially non-existent.  At least reliable information is virtually non-existent.  The most reliable is the newly set up website “Be. Accessible”, which has assessed some accommodations, eateries, attractions and so on for access but so far only in the Auckland City area, so not of much use to you I am afraid.   Another source of reliable information is the newly-released Taupo District Council brochure which has accommodations and attractions etc that have been assessed by a person with Barrier-Free training.  I say reliable because these are accommodations and so on that have actually been independently assessed for access for people with a disability, and their accessibility is described.  If you do visit Rotorua, you could then head south to Taupo with this brochure.  There are a couple of other websites which list accessible accommodations, attractions etc, but may I advise caution? The businesses  listed have been rated as accessible by the owner or operator, but my research has shown that operators do not often know what true access for people with disabilities is and so often claim their premises are accessible when they are not.

 As I don’t know the full extent of your access needs, I can’t advise you to “wing it” in New Zealand as you suggest.  I really have not myself checked out the accessibility of tourism products along the routes you describe and would hate to give you misleading advice.  And there is nowhere you can go to for such advice that I know of I am afraid.  I do not have the knowledge about accessible accommodations and walks that you so desperately need.   I see you have tried to download the brochures about “Easy Access Walks” put out by our Department of Conservation and could not do so.  I am not sure why.   I would in any case suggest caution using these guides as some of the walks that I have checked myself in the past were really not that accessible for a person in a chair, or with mobility disability, even though they are stated as wheelchair accessible.  I have to confess though that I have not checked them all.   In case you do want to depend on these, the north island walks can be found here, and the south island here.

There are a handful of operators in New Zealand who offer accessible tours (I will email you a list), but I have not checked these out personally and so can not speak with authority about them.  As we have no quality rating system for Access Tourism products, it is hard to tell.  One thing you could do is write to them and lay out your needs so you can be quite clear that those needs will be met.  Another thing you could do is to have a look at the Access Tourism NZ website for descriptions of trips others have taken in New Zealand (for example, Jim Llewellyn, Bruce Mumford, etc).  And then, if you do travel around New Zealand, it would be helpful to others if you were to let Access Tourism New Zealand know of your experiences so that we can pass on that information to others.

 I wish that information about Access Tourism in New Zealand was more easily available and relaible, but until more funding is forthcoming for research, quality rating, and description in this area, I am afraid all I can do is offer you my apologies for not being more helpful.  The Be. Accessible Foundation is to receive NZ$4 million from the government over the next four years to advance their access programme so I am hopeful that that will lead to more reliable information about Access Tourism products throughout New Zealand in the future.

Regards, Sandra.

Taupō District Council has released a new brochure designed to make it easier for people who have a mobility issue to get around and enjoy what the district has to offer.   The Taupō District Access Brochure is a joint venture between Taupō District Council and the Taupō Mobility Access Reference Group (TMARG). TMARG is a community group who meet regularly to look at access issues in our community on behalf of people with a range of restricted mobility, sight and hearing impairments.  

The brochure will inform community members and visitors to the district of accessible facilities, such as banks, ATMs, accommodation, dining, parking, public toilets, respite care and medical facilities.  The brochure will be available from Taupō district i-Site’s and respite/retirements homes, and will also be on the Taupō District Council website. 

The six month project involved auditing every public facility in the CBD of Taupō, Turangi and Mangakino, and giving a rating of poor, moderate or good. Accessible Taupo Project worker Lucinda Stone, together with TMARG member Chance Anderson – who has skills gained from his Barrier Free Audit training – took on the task of checking and rating the facilities.  Access Tourism NZ applauds the fact that assessments of facilities have been done independently.  “Too often in Access brochures, opertors such as accommodation owners rate their own facilities as accessible, when quit frankly, they have no idea of what true access is” said Sandra Rhodda of ATNZ.    ”Kudos to this council for going the extra mile and doing the job properly”.

Production of Taupō District Access Brochure is kindly supported by Lakeland Disability Support Trust.

In a positive step forward, the New Zealand Government has recognized the skills, knowledge and economic power of older people and how these will benefit New Zealand’s economic competitiveness in the next 40 years.  Minister for Senior Citizens John Carter – in releasing a report called The Business of Ageing, Realising the economic potential of older people in New Zealand: 2011-2051   – said that in less than 20 years, one million people in New Zealand will be over the age of 65, compared to about 560,000 today. And in 40 years, one in four people will be aged over 65, compared to one in eight today.  “People over 65 are predicted to be our only growth market in terms of demography. They will become one of the most significant consumer markets in New Zealand. They will have their own needs and preferences that are quite different from earlier generations of older people, and also quite different from younger people.  Baby boomers will be healthier, better educated and have more spending power than any other generation reaching 65 in New Zealand’s history.  They want to stay active and keep working. Flexible work options could drive job growth and help us respond to projected skill and labour shortages.  Government cannot work in isolation to develop priorities for older people, so buy-in from the business sector, employers and people of all ages is essential to capture the possibilities this report outlines” said Carter.

That the mature market is hailed as a good example of an opportunity for New Zealand, both domestically and internationally is a major step forward.   The report mentions tourism amongst other things.  Certainly, in tourism, there has been little recognition of the growing importance of this market.  The first mention of the fact that “travellers in the older age groups will become even more significant in the future” occurred in the Ministry of Tourism’(now part of the Ministry of Econmic Development) report, Interenational Visitors Tourism Sector Profile, in June 2009.  Then last year (2010), Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key said that moteliers should not be surprised if their market becomes increasingly retired people. “They will travel around New Zealand as they will have more time on their hands and will want see the West Coast or whatever and you will get more of them as at the moment New Zealand has 535,000 over 65 and in 40 years it will have a million.” said Key.    Also in 2010, the government released a report which recognized the importance of the older market.  The report – Domestic Tourism Market Segmentation - went on to state that major barriers to this group travelling are “health and disability (their own or that of a travelling companion) as well as lack of travelling companions”.    

This latest report states that ”A tourism industry that responds to the changing demands of baby boomers over 65 could have spin-off effects for other industries and stimulate regional economic growth”. As Access Toursm New Zealand has pointed out on numerous occassions, if New Zealand is to seriously market to and cater for older travellers (or indeed, older markets in general), it has to take into consideration that disability increases with age, and must improve its access tourism offer.  Instead of seeing a person’s disability as a barrier (as the Segmentation Report does), it must look at  environment factors such as inaccessible tourism websites, transport, accommodation and other innaccessible products as disabling.

The New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at the Auckland University of Technology is conducting research for the New Zealand National Foundation for the Deaf about the tourism, travel, and hospitality experiences and needs of people with hearing impairments. There are two surveys in this research, one for residents of New Zealand and one for residents of countries other than New Zealand who are deaf or have hearing loss and who are 20 years old or older.   The aim of the research is to find out what it is like to travel with hearing loss, and how the travel experiences of hearing impaired people can be improved.   There are a number of questions where participants can simply click on an answer from a range of options given. Other questions ask participants to type comments in their own words into a box provided.  The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, and all answers are confidential and can in no way be linked to any person.  

To take the survey, go here:  http://www.tourismandhearingsurvey.co.nz/

On the official Rugby World Cup 2011 website (RWC2011), it states on a page headed “Accessible Information” that the cup “will be an event for everyone to enjoy and as such we want to make it as easy as possible for fans to find the information they need on this website.”  However, there is no facility on the RWC2011 site to search for information about access, and there are other problems with access information on the site and with access to the games.  Now to make matters worse, taxis and private vehicles will be banned from Wellington’s Westpac Stadium during the games because they are considered a security threat. Wellington Combined Taxis GM Kevin Braid says the company is concerned for elderly and disabled people trying to get to the stadium.  New Zealand Taxi Federation secretary George Tyler has said the decision is ridiculous and bad news for the elderly.  ”On a cold and wet day when you’re 83 like me, it’s a bloody long way to walk [to the stadium].  I don’t think it is a best image for New Zealand or for Wellington.”   Information about this ban has already appeared on international websites.  Taxis and private vehicles are already also banned during some other events, such as the AC/DC Black Ice Tour later this month.  Wellington buses are not accessible for mobility scooters and not all bus stops are wheelchair accessible.  There is as yet no information on the NZ Tourism Guide website on how mobility scooter users, or wheelchair users near inaccessible bus stops are to get to the games.   In fact, the NZTG site states that “most urban transport buses are not equipped to cater for the disabled.”  Hopefully, this will change before RWC2011 so that people with disabilities can partake of the games as is guaranteed in NZ’s disability legislation and in international instruments that we have signed, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD).  CRPD specifies that States Parties shall “ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues”, amongst other things (Article 30).  Clearly, this is not happening yet.

Recently, Access Tourism in NZ has been mentioned several times in Parliament.   On the 8^th December, the Minister for Disabilities Issues – who  opened the first Access Tourism NZ Conference in October – launched the “Report on the Human Rights of Disabled People in Aotearoa New Zealand”.  In her introductory speech she said the following:

“The Office for Disability Issues is currently asking for feedback on what changes can be made that would enable disabled people to live independently, be able to move around their communities and be able to provide better work opportunities for disabled people.   As a very topical example, the Ministerial Committee on Disability Issues recently heard from Martin Sneddon CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011 about the dedicated booking system for disabled people and how seats for disabled people at all grounds are all priced on the lowest category seats regardless of the location of the seats. They are reviewing all grounds to check wheelchair accessible seating and services to support this seating. And they are also ensuring that shuttle buses and disabled parking will be available at all venues.

I am really passionate about Access Tourism and so I was really interested in your recommendation that an industry standard should be developed to signal a non-disabling environment and universal design features of accessible accommodation and tourism features.”

Access Tourism NZ applauds the Minister’s interest in Access Tourism.  As to the Rugby World Cup however, we hope that with less than a year to go to kickoff, the official RWC2011 website will soon have individual information about access at venues.  RWC2011 will be the largest international sporting event in the world next year and is expected to draw 85,000 extra visitors to NZ, some of whom are bound to have disabilities.  At the moment on the RWC2011 website, the same information appears on each venue page (including an icon of the wheelchair symbol with a slash through it) and is of little use to a person with a disability hoping to plan a trip to the RWC2011, especially as tickets are on sale.  The disabled always need plenty of time to plan trips, accommodation, and activities because these are always more difficult due to access issues.

On the “Accessible Information” page is the statement:    “If you are unable to complete your application online or require wheelchair accessible seating, please email specialneeds@rwc2011ticketing.com to request an application form. Alternatively, please call 0800 RUGBY11 (0800 784 2911) or +64 9 367 2011 from overseas or mobile and our Customer Service Representatives will assist you with your application.” Access Tourism NZ  hopes that the information needs of people with disabilities will be met as quickly as possible on the RWC2011 website so that the disabled do not need to fill in “special needs” forms which they must post or scan and email (unlike the non-disabled), and that they do not have to call from England or France for assistance, as this does not look good for New Zealand.   

In the “Report on the Human Rights of Disabled People in Aotearoa New Zealand” itself,  tourism is mentioned in the following context:

Conclusions and recommendations, p. 15 and p. 64: Leaving home for short or extended periods of time remains an issue for disabled people with discrimination unlikely to be reported in this area. The final recommendation is that an industry standard (similar to the tourism industry’s Qualmark) signalling a non-disabling environment and universal design features be developed.

 Subjects like travel, transport, accommodation, restaurants, clubs, bars etc are mentioned several times in the report, and “social participation” is cited as the most significant single issue for PwDs (p. 41).

Sandra Rhodda of Access Tourism New Zealand gave an invited presentation at the Third International Congress of Accessible Tourism for All in Valladolid Spain in November.  She spoke about people with disabilities, access tourism, and arts and culture in New Zealand.   The congress – held over three days – was attended by more than 300 people from Europe, the U.K., Asia, and the Americas, and comprised a number of presentations and concurrent workshops on progress and business initiatives in developing Access Tourism, professional training, employment, and research in Access Tourism, presentations on access, culture, and the environment, disabled students as access tourists, Access Tourism and technology, and Access Tourism rating, standardization, and labeling systems.  The Congress was backed by Fundacion ONCE, the largest disabilities NGO in Spain, and the European Network for Accessible Tourism.

 The main theme of the congress was cultural tourism and was therefore aimed at professionals in the cultural sector wishing to enhance their participation in the tourism sector.  It had as a main goal that of establishing Universal Accessibility and Design for All, with which to promote inclusion of people with disabilities.  One of the main goals of Fundación ONCE is to ensure the full inclusion of disabled people in all areas of society. Making access to cultural tourism easier for disabled people helps them get to know the culture of the place they are visiting. On the other hand, incorporating Design for All into the new cultural tourism offerings makes more people aware of the importance of Design for All and Universal Accessibility.

A timely presentation was that given by Juan Aljama from the Accessibility Commission of Spain, who spoke about the work of the Group of World Heritage Cities of Spain (Accessible Heritage and Tourism section).  The Group was created to preserve and promote thirteen historic cities in Spain, and the access section is involved with assessing and improving access for locals and visitors with disabilities.  One of the thirteen cities – Avila – this week won the first-ever European Commission award for improving access for the disabled (The Access City Award 2011)